NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Friday, Cal Fire announced that, after “extensive and thorough investigations,” its investigators have determined that 12 Northern California wildfires in the October 2017 Fire Siege were caused by electric power and distribution lines, conductors and the failure of power poles.
Those incidents include the October 2017 Sulphur fire, which burned 2,207 acres and more than 160 structures in Clearlake and Clearlake Oaks.
The October 2017 Fire Siege involved more than 170 fires and burned at least 245,000 acres in Northern California. About 11,000 firefighters from 17 states and Australia helped battle the blazes.
Cal Fire investigators were dispatched to the fires last year and immediately began working to determine their origin and cause.
The agency said they continued to investigate the remaining 2017 fires, both in October and December, and will release additional reports as they are completed.
Cal Fire’s investigations have been referred to the appropriate county district attorney’s offices for review in eight of the 12 fires – Sulphur, Blue, Norrbom, Partrick, Pythian, Adobe, Pocket and Atlas – due to evidence of alleged violations of state law.
The cause of four other Northern California fires were released on May 25: The La Porte and Honey fires in Butte County, and the McCourtney and Lobo fires in Nevada County. Cal Fire also attributed those four fires to issues with PG&E power equipment.
In response to Friday’s Cal Fire announcement, Pacific Gas and Electric spokeswoman Deanna Contreras said the company is looking forward to the opportunity to carefully review the Cal Fire reports to understand the agency’s perspectives. “Based on the information we have so far, we continue to believe our overall programs met our state’s high standards.”
Lake County News is following up on the findings and will be reporting more specifically on the Sulphur fire’s cause.
Below is a summary of the findings from the 12 completed investigations Cal Fire announced Friday.
Sulphur fire – Lake County
The Sulphur Fire started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 2,207 acres, destroying 162 structures. There were no injuries. Cal Fire investigators determined the fire was caused by the failure of a PG&E owned power pole, resulting in the power lines and equipment coming in contact with the ground.
Redwood fire – Mendocino County
The Redwood fire started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 36,523 acres, destroying 543 structures. There were nine civilian fatalities and no injuries to firefighters. Cal Fire has determined the fire started in two locations and was caused by tree or parts of trees falling onto PG&E power lines.
Cherokee fire – Butte County
The Cherokee fire started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 8,417 acres, destroying six structures. There were no injuries. Cal Fire investigators have determined the cause of the fire was a result of tree limbs coming into contact with PG&E power lines.
37 fire – Sonoma County
The 37 fire started the evening of Oct. 9 and burned a total of 1,660 acres, destroying three structures. There were no injuries. CAL FIRE investigators have determined the cause of the fire was electrical and was associated with the PG&E distribution lines in the area.
Blue fire – Humboldt County
The Blue fire started the afternoon of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 20 acres. There were no injuries. Cal Fire investigators have determined a PG&E power line conductor separated from a connector, causing the conductor to fall to the ground, starting the fire.
Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick, Pythian and Nuns fires – Napa and Sonoma counties
The Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick, Pythian and Nuns fires were part of a series of fires that merged in Sonoma and Napa counties. These fires started in the late-night hours of Oct. 8 and burned a combined total of 56,556 acres, destroying 1,355 structures. There were three civilian fatalities.
Cal Fire investigators determined the following:
– The Norrbom fire was caused by a tree falling and coming in contact with PG&E power lines.
– The Adobe fire was caused by a eucalyptus tree falling into a PG&E powerline.
– The Partrick fire was caused by an oak tree falling into PG&E powerlines.
– The Pythian fire was caused by a downed powerline after PG&E attempted to re-energize the line.
– The Nuns fire was caused by a broken top of a tree coming in contact with a power line.
Pocket fire – Sonoma County
The Pocket fire started the early morning hours of Oct. 9 and burned a total of 17,357 acres, destroying six structures. There were no injuries. Cal Fire said it was caused by the top of an oak tree breaking and coming into contact with PG&E power lines.
Atlas fire – Napa County
The Atlas fire started the evening of Oct. 8 and burned a total of 51,624 acres, destroying 783 structures. There were six civilian fatalities. Cal fire said the fire started in two locations. At one location, it was determined a large limb broke from a tree and came into contact with a PG&E power line. At the second location, investigators determined a tree fell into the same line.
Cal Fire says Sulphur fire, 11 other major wildland fires caused by power equipment
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On